Although reports of high schools implementing drug testing programs have declined in recent years, the vaping epidemic among high school students is generating renewed interest in such testing. As reported in Michigan Live, Plainwell High School in Plainwell, Michigan is beginning a program to test students participating in athletics and extracurriculars. With about 300 of the school’s 860 students participating in such activities, the program is designed to test about 10% of them after having parents sign approval for the random testing as part of the annual approval form to participate in the activities.
The program has created controversy much like the earlier generation of drug testing programs. The program includes testing urine for nicotine, marijuana, opioids and methamphetamine. Students, teachers, administrators, and parents interviewed for the article provide a good idea of the range of opinions on the program that has other high school administrators looking on to see if it is worth wider adoption.
The case of random drug testing for high school students presents a clear example of how social conventions shape the nature of testing acceptable in a community or society. It will be interesting to follow this latest turn to testing to see how social forces play out and shape the nature of these programs and where they are adopted. It is ironic that the multi-billion dollar companies behind vaping and the federal government that ignores this new drug delivery system receive little attention and censure, while the high school students victimized by the products are the targets of enforcement actions like random testing.
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